Never Silent

 "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." - Psalm 19:1-4a. 

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.- Ephesians 2:4-7

Little Man Ahad before he was intubated the second time, which is his current state. This photo is precious because in Togo he rarely smiled for pictures.

Dear God, I know that you are good, but how in the world can this glorify You?? These were the beginning, tearful words of my prayer to the Lord last week after I discovered that another patient that I had helped care for the day before passed away during the night.  My conversation with my Heavenly Father did not end this way, but these words paint a good picture of where I have been the past several weeks.  Between a busy season at the hospital and heavy conversations with Ahad's family as he remains ventilated an ocean away from home, unable to have his heart corrective surgery, many situations exist that I can faithlessly think make no sense and aren't very God-glorifying.  But this perspective only exists when I forget clear truths from Scripture that stare me in the face and speak the reality to my heart about the God I serve.  Psalm 19 came to mind after I asked God about how dying patients bring Him glory. Read it above. "Well, at least I can find comfort in the fact that, at every moment, God's creation is screaming God's greatness.  The skies are never silent in glorifying Him" I thought to myself.  

But friends, there is so much more screaming God's glory than this! When I wonder how God can be glorified by my dear friend in Florida in the midst of tricky life decisions for her son Ahad, or when I ask God why another life had to end with sickness, or why repeated pain or illness keep team members from doing the ministry they desire, I can think of the second Bible passage from Ephesians 2.  Read this one above as well :) Not only are the skies ever crying, but so is God's work in the lives of His redeemed. Each time one of His children comes to Him in tearful prayer, or shows kindness to another, or realizes she talked in haste to her brother and asks for pardon, this brings God glory. Every time that His son wakes up after a few hours of sleep to enter another long workday, praying for an attitude of joy, this brings God glory.  Do you know why? Because these same individuals were dead, unresponsive, empty.  But God showed His glory by showing love to the dead, transforming their hearts and making them His and helping them grow in pleasing Him.  So, when I wonder how God can be glorified in the heavy situations I mentioned, this is the answer.  Even more so, when I ask God how He can get the honor from hard situations involving those who don't yet know Christ and thus don't yet display the glory of God's saving and sanctifying work, one answer lies in the fact that God is never silent in showing His greatness, so His works will never be silent in radiating His glory. These same individuals who are lost are still screaming God's glory, because they get to be the recipients of God's love.  He can show such love by demonstrating His common graces such as air to breathe, family to give comfort when loved ones die, or marriages and new babies to celebrate.  He can show His love through the actions of believers in a community, those who were once dead but are now being used for good. Friends, these are just a few examples. I do not at all want to treat lightly the miseries of this world. I don't know the situations at which you are shaking your head in total incomprehension or the issues that are breaking your heart. Truly, these past few months have held dark realities that I often don't want to bring to mind again because they are just too heavy and complicated for my little brain.  But I share what I have, while knowing it is not even a scratch on the surface of how God is being glorified, to encourage my own heart as I write to you all. Even outside of the things that we see God working for good, in the heavy and complicated and messy and heart-wrenching, God is being glorified. He will always speak through the lives He has made alive, in those He is bringing to Himself, and to those who don't know Him as Lord. He's God. Glorifying Himself is what He does.  Praise the Lord for never being silent.

Answered prayer! A friend from town gave birth to a healthy baby girl after having miscarried during her last pregnancy.

I realize that isn't much of an update letter in terms of sharing news, but it is where I have been sitting. I am back in Togo, working at the hospital, continuing to enjoy the relationships God has given me here, and being stretched to rely on His daily grace.   A few highlights have been visiting the kids with whom I do the Bible lessons in town, celebrating a dear friend's birthday, visiting a Bible teaching workshop for our Togolese brothers and sisters on the book of Ephesians, and sweet times in the Word and in prayer with the house church.  God is so kind to sustain the team with His sovereign grace each day. Please pray with me that He would help us to see His glory in realities such as the one's I mentioned and that we would joyfully worship Him each day. Thank you! Other prayer requests are below the picture.

While spending time with the kiddos where we have Bible lessons together, one of the moms gave me one of the twins to put on my back. Baby J of course wasn’t very happy and started crying, so the mom instructed me to start dancing and singing. Well, let me tell you it worked! In a few minutes, J was asleep. Definitely a highlight of the week!

-Praise God with me for the way God has shown His love to Ahad's family, in each day He has given Sekina with her son and for an opportunity for so many to pray for and care about them

-Pray for wisdom for the medical team and all involved with Ahad's situation, as they continue to make decisions regarding His care

-Pray for endurance for the team here in Mango, that God would provide for the weary and help us to prioritize communicating His love and truth to those around us

-Praise God for recent stories from the hospital about patients who have come to Jesus or who have shown interest in salvation!!! Woohoo!

-Praise God for the week-long Bible training on studying and teaching the book of Ephesians, that the tools learned would lead to further growth in the Lord and in the effective communication of God's Word. Pray for more training opportunities such as these, particularly for those who are serving among those who don’t speak or read French

-Pray for the kids at the Bible study where I teach, that God's truth would go to their hearts and lead to transformed lives. Pray for wisdom in communicating and prioritizing time to prepare and spend time with these precious kids.

Thanks Friends! Love to you.

~Theresa G.

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